TWENTY five years after independence, the Eengodi community in the Oshikoto region are still drinking from wells, travelling long distances to schools and walking long distances to access health facilities.
Eengodi, situated about 130 km south-east of Ondangwa, borders the Okankolo and Omuthiya constituencies.
Some villagers travel for 18km to get water from Onamishu, which is the constituency centre.
The main water pipe from Omuthiya supplies villages such as Onakankuzi, Okashana Keemanya, Onamishu and Elambo.
Small pipes branch out going to Otaambambunya, Evale, Otatashe, Onkumbula and Omupupa, villages that are far from the main source.
The people and their animals that need water make the water pressure so low that all the time the water is dripping instead of running from the tap.
“These people may say we have water. But is that water you can use to cook or give to your cattle?” asked Isak Kondjashili from Otaamba village, one of the most affected villages in the constituency.
Kondjashili, who heads the men and women crime network, said the scarcity of water has forced people to dig boreholes in one plain, but the water is salty.
“Kids always get diarhoea but we have no choice. It is better to get diarhoea than die of thirst,” Kondjashili said.
He said most of the people suffering are in villages east of Evale.
“People are suffering there. Government should act,” he said, adding that villages such as Epama,Ondjudi and Eyambeko are worst affected.
After an outcry, the department of rural water supply dispatched a water tank to the affected area, but, according to Kondjashili, it was a drop in the ocean.
“We are talking about people and animals in about six villages. What can that amount of water do in a month?” he asked.
Last year, between May and July, two children fell in the wells, Kondjashili said.
His statement was corroborated by three others who said the wells are dangerous because sometimes people do not see them.
“It is because people remove the poles that cover the wells. If we had tap water, those two precious lives would not have been lost,” he further said.
One elderly resident of Onyaviye village told The Namibian that the water woes in the Eengodi constituency are to be blamed on the rural water supply section in the agriculture ministry at Onankali. Joseph Teofilus says he applied for his own water point back in 2013 but up to now is still waiting.
“I am not the only one. Many people after realising the low pressure at which the water runs, applied for their own taps.
Nothing came out of it and we are still waiting”, he says.
Teofilus says they paid N$ 1200 as water connection fees but to no avail.
“I think they might have eaten our money. Or why are they taking so long to come and help us?” he asked, adding that this left them at the mercy of fellow residents who charge between N$10 and N$28 for a 25-litre container of water.
“Those with cars makes a living from the water business. You just have to pay otherwise you will go thirsty. He said he enquired with the water department in October last year and was promised that by the end of January end, everyone will have water.
“This is the end of February, and still nothing”.
Water is not the only problem tormenting the people of Eengodi and surrounding areas. They complain of learners waking up at four in the morning to walk three hours to school.
“They leave home when it is dark and return in darkness. The only time we see them during the day is during the weekend,” one parent said.
The Namibian was told the school nearby is Okashana Keemanya in the Omuthiya constituency, about 20km away in the south-west. The villagers also complained that the Onamishu clinic is far and they walk up to 10km to get medical attention.
“We want at least two clinics between our villages. Onamishu is far,” said Adam Amakali.
